...where his father was a bishop. He knew Christianity from an early age. History has it that he was a wealthy Christian in Rome whose trade was ship building; where he acquired his wealth . Walker, Williston noted that he came to Rome about 139 CE, Haunted by the problem of evil and suffering in the world, where he espoused dualism that distinguished the OT God and the NT God . The main sources for Marcion's life are Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Hippolytus . It is of importance to not that although his own works are not existing we know the position of Marcion and the Marcionites church through their writings. Legend has it that before moving to Rome, he disgraced himself by having affair with a woman, and was excommunicated by his father , but it is not clear if the excommunication was for the affair or for false teaching. He joined the Church in Rome and his aim was to call the Church back to what he deemed the original gospel of Jesus Christ. Possible Influence and Background By The second century there was a steady growth of Gentile Christianity, and also lots of oppornets at this time. A new generation of leaders succeeds the apostles. Nevertheless, expectation still runs high that the Lord may return at any time. The end must be close. The Gospel has been taken through a great portion of the known world of the Roman empire and even to regions beyond. New churches at first usually begin in Jewish synagogues around the empire and Christianity is seen at first as a part of Judaism...
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...that no nation has been spared of the effects of religious politics because religious legislative issues inside of a nation might significantly influence issues in another nation with a totally diverse point of view toward religion, governmental issues, and the issues being referred to. Thus, there is an ever-increasing need to make a global "analytic map of faith," with the capacity to adequately explain the location and influence of these religions on human behavior. Such map proves to be a significant tool to explain why a particular religion is associated with specific behaviors or actions. Religious beliefs are diverse across the globe. Although majority of people are of the belief in the presence of one supreme God (Monotheism) others believe that there are multiple gods. Another sect believes in no God at all (atheism). Owing to this diversity, setting up a global analytical map of faith proves to be a challenging task. Nevertheless, the three popular monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) are a superb benchmark to set up the analytical map of faith. Three of the world's major religions -Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - were all conceived in the Middle East and are all inseparably connected to each other. Christianity was conceived from inside of the Jewish custom, and Islam created from both Christianity and Judaism. These three monotheistic religions all offer in like manner the conviction...
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...Zoroastrianism and Its Influences on the World With a membership of about 200,000, the importance of Zoroastrianism is far greater than its numbers suggest. Closely related to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, its concepts of Satan, angelology, demonology, a deliverer, future life, paradise and judgment in these religions may have been directly or indirectly derived from Zoroastrianism. Founded by the Iranian prophet and reformer Zoroaster in the 6th century BC, Zoroastrianism contains both monotheistic and dualistic features. Its concepts of one God, judgment, heaven and hell likely influenced the major Western religions. History of Zoroastrianism The origins of the Zoroastrian religion are shrouded in mystery. The prophet Zarathustra, later referred to by the Greeks as Zoroaster, founded Zoroastrianism roughly between the 16th and 10th centuries BCE. Zoroaster's birth date is also uncertain and modern scholarship currently suggests he lived in northern or eastern Iran or nearby such as in Afghanistan or southern Russia. In Zoroaster’s thirties he had a revelation in which he saw an angel who told him that there is only one true god and that God’s name was Aura Mazda (Clark, 1998). It is certain that by the year 549 B.C.E., Zoroastrianism had become a major world religion. It was Cyrus the Great, first ruler of the Persian Empire, who ordained Zoroastrianism as the official religion of his state. It was this same Cyrus that liberated the Jews from the occupation they...
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...Religious Splits Christianity is the world religion with the greatest number of followers. The name Christian comes from the title given to Jesus of Nazareth – ‘the Christ’ which is a Greek word which means ‘Messiah’. Christianity began in Palestine in the 1st century CE as the claimed fulfillment of God’s promises to the Jews. There are many different types of Christianity practiced; the major division is between Western (itself divided into Roman Catholicism and Protestantism) and Orthodox Christianity. Christianity is a belief system that has had immense cultural and political consequences. Christianity comes from the life and teachings of Jesus (5BCE-30CE approximately), a Palestinian Jew. Worship is undertaken in buildings called churches. Entry in to the Christian Church is via Baptism and is usually undertaken when the person is a baby though denominations such as Baptists wait until the person is old enough to confirm personally their own Christian faith. In denominations where Baptism is the norm for babies, Confirmation is undertaken where the person personally affirms the vows undertaken for them when they were baptized as a baby. Christians believe worshipping in a group is important and this is usually called a service which takes place in a church on a Sunday (Christians believe that Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday). Each denomination worships in a different way. Some may be only slight while others are more noticeable. The most important differences...
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...another sense, mutually support each other, forming one view: Early Christianity is not a nascent religion with no root. It is based on Judaism, yet evolved into a progressive and revolutionary religion at Roman time. The origins of Christianity is undoubtedly very complex, and in the process of Christianity’s emerging, the mutual rebuttal sects and doctrines could be reflections of Christianity’s inclusiveness and diversity. Gnosticism, Christianity, Judaism and other minor Roman religions and doctrines are involved in the formation and development of Early Christianity....
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...between the Jewishness of the writers and events of the New Testament on one hand and the definitively non-Jewish character of the Early Church after the apostolic period on the other hand. An appreciation of the Jewish background of the Early Church and knowledge of the development of Jewish-Christian relations in the first three centuries of the Christian era is therefore crucial if one desires to understand the parting of ways between Judaism and Christianity. These two sister faiths would become bitter enemies within a few centuries after the emergence of the Christian faith. This paper, while heavily relying and interacting with primary sources of the time, will endeavor to highlight the Jewish origin of Christianity, trace its development within Judaism, and chronicle its inexorable divorce from its Jewish roots and sister faith. Setting the stage: the expansion of the Jewish Diaspora During the Persian occupation of Palestine (538-332 BC), many Jews decided to pass on the magnanimous offer of Cyrus allowing them to return to Palestine and chose to remain in Babylonia where subsequently, the Jewish population grew in influence over the centuries.1 Already during the Babylonian invasion and in the lifetime of the prophet Jeremiah, many Jews fled to Egypt, where they established substantial Jewish settlements. The Greek period (332-167 BC) saw the expansion of the Jewish Diaspora. The Newly founded city of Alexandria became a key center of Hellenistic Jewry, which produced...
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...and involved many different cultures and regions. As civilization evolved different cultures naturally had an impact on one another. The Hebrews, Greeks and Romans did just this, influence one another and these influences carried on to life, as it is known today. From 1500-900 B.C. the Hebrews proved to be a pliable society who endured very hard times coming out with their culture relatively unbroken. The Hebrews were known for their cultural and spiritual laws, rules and morals. The ancient world was a harsh place to thrive and within the harshness they introduced morality and justice. Their belief in one god and their god is something that has extended over hundreds of years and continues into today’s culture. The nucleus of the Hebrew legal belief is found in the Ten Commandments, which is found in the bible. The Bible has had the greatest single influence on religion, ethics, and literature of the West. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all rooted in the scriptures of the Hebrews. Christianity evolved out of Judaism. Jesus and his early followers were Jews, and probably considered themselves Jewish reformers rather than founders of a new religion. The Christian Bible incorporated the Jewish Bible, so the bulk of Christianity's most sacred writings are Jewish as well. Muslims also regard the Jewish and Christian scriptures as important, and many passages in the Qur'an resemble passages in the Bible. The Hebrews did not only begin having an impact hundreds of years after their...
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...Introduction Christianity came from Judaism. Judaism is a Jewish religion which views originated from the Old Testament. The Old Testament is broken down into five categories: the Torah meaning the “Law” containing the five books of Moses,” History: the book of Joshua to the book of Esther, Wisdom: the book of Job to the book of Song of Solomon, Prophetic Books: the book Isaiah to the book of Daniel and the last twelve books are the Minor Prophets: the book of Hosea to the book of Malachi. The Old Testament books are pivotal to the birth of the New Testament because if God did not keep his promises to the Old Testament patriarchs Christianity would have not been born. In this research I will focus on early Christianity and how it began. Next I will speak upon how the gospel went from Judaism to a world religion. I will then talk about the persecution of the Jewish people by Christians. Lastly I will discuss the conflict between the two. Early Christianity In the first century there were four main religious sects made up of the Palestinian Jews: the Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, and the Zealots. The Sadducees were religious conservative priest and wanted to maintain the authenticity of the Hebrew teachings, they also did not believe in the resurrection of the dead or an afterlife. The Pharisees unlike the Sadducees took a more liberal mindset towards the Mosaic Law, they allowed multiple interpretations of the Torah, they accepted oral tradition of the Torah (the...
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...and social laws as they are articulated in the Torah. The Torah is known as the first first five books of the Hebrew Bible. Jews refer to the Bible as the Tanakh, an acronym for the texts of the Torah, Prophets, and Writings. Judaism is a religion and a culture; it has a major influence on inheritance and heritage. The Hebrew history has been written back and forth from the exodus. The exodus was the mighty act of Yahweh. Yahweh is the most respectful name for God in the Jewish religion. The Jews take the name of Yahweh very serious and always use it with great diligence. If I were to compare and contradict my belief to Judaism I would say that Judaism is very similar to my own religion, Christianity, on belief but are very different in their own ways. For example in Christianity we believe that Jesus Christ is the lord and he is our savor; however, in Judaism they believe that there savor has not arrived yet and that he’s still coming to take them to the promise land, but some similar beliefs that they have in common are that God is the creator and, God does not have a physical form; he is eternal and God Almighty is the only God that will be worshiped. One of the most important things that Christianity and Jews differ in is there book of worship. Christians study the Old...
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...Judaism Introduction Judaism is an ancient religion that has an age-old history and tradition which was originally for the Jewish people. It is perhaps the oldest surviving monotheist religion in the world today. The two other popular monotheist religions – Christianity and Islam – being propagated today have so many of their beliefs and tenets borrowed or copied fro Judaism. Christianity is said to be an offshoot of Judaism since its founders and the early organizers who propagated the faith and spread its teachings during its early days were members of Judaism. The Arabian Prophet Mohammad who founded the Moslem faith was said to have copied or at least patterned some of the religious tenets to that of Judaism. Some of the texts in the Moslem Holy Book know as the Holy Koran are patterned or at least have some similar contents as are found in the Jewish Torah. The Christian Holy Bible contains both Old Testament which corresponds to the Jewish Torah and the New Testament. Brief History of Judaism The Jewish Religion, one of the oldest in the world today, spanned thousands of years – dating 4,000 years back. It is a religion with a unique tradition because of its monotheistic belief. The religion first started with simple act of worship and sacrifices to God by the Patriarch Abraham. The event of Abraham’s attempt to sacrifice his only son Isaac is well document in the Torah. From the questions Isaac posed to his father on why they had no lamb for sacrifice was an indication...
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...At the time, the Roman Empire had strict laws about religion in their empire. The Romans had it set that current religions can continue, but no new ones will be forced. During this time period, Christianity formed out of Judaism as a reform movement, and at the time, had very few members. Slowly, the descendants of the apostles passed on traditions and it became the dominant religion in the Roman Empire. This success was because there was organizational strength within the religion. Paul, an early Christian leader, wrote the “Letter to the Romans” to give the Romans a concrete foundation to serve God effectively. Paul incorporated many ideals into this letter, and one is how to follow and obey the law. Paul wrote, “You must obey the governing authorities. Since all government comes from God, the civil authorities were appointed by God, and so anyone who resists authority is rebelling against God’s decision” (Paul, Letter to the Romans, 267)...
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...cultural events worldwide: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. All are called Abrahamic religions because each utilizes the teaches of Abraham in its central historical view of the world. Each of the three Abrahamic faiths are monotheistic, and actually account for over 50% of the world’s population, or almost 4 billion people (Christian Science Monitor, 8/4/98). Note, too, that besides the three major traditions, other religions cite their traditions from Abraham: Mandaenism, Rastafairnism, Bahai, Samaritan, and the Druze (“Why Abrahamic?”) It is also interesting to note that within these three religious teachings, there are considerable areas of commonality, yet the three are often at odds with one another over political and social issues, even in the contemporary world. The name Judaism comes from the Hebrew word Yehuda, meaning celebrated or praised. This set of beliefs originated from the ancient tribes of the Middle Eastern deserts, the Israelites, and told within the Talmud, or the ancient Hebrew Bible. In essence, Judaism is the special relationship that the Children of Israel have with God, and that special relationship derived from promises and covenants of law, tradition, and civil rights. Many scholars, in fact, see Judaism as one of the first monotheistic religions (depending on the argument about the Egyptian Sun-King, Amon-Ra), and its history and traditions have strongly influences other religions, most especially Islam and Christianity (Robinson, 2001). Judaism,...
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...authored by Mikael Knighton, founder of Christians Standing with Israel. The series consists of three installments: Reflection, Reconciliation, and Reconsideration. The series has been published in both the US and in Israel, where it was translated to Hebrew and published in the NATIV, a Jewish magazine facilitated by the Ariel Center for Policy Research (ACPR). Synopsis Over the centuries, Christian support of the state of Israel has been looked upon with a suspicious and vigilant eye. In fact, history will clearly show that the essence of pure evil, operating under the guise of “Christianity”, has facilitated a complete and justifiable collapse in Judeo-Christian relations. Only recently has the relationship between the Jewish people and Christians become fruitful, and the "mending" process, albeit positive, continues to evolve. Even so, the question remains: “Why do Christians support the state of Israel?” Christian Zionism, a theological belief that identifies the restoration of the Jewish people to their biblical homeland as the literal fulfillment of biblical prophecies foretold thousands of years ago, may arguably exist as the most oft-misunderstood “form” of Christianity, today. Moreover, Christian Zionist dogma has been the recipient of much indignation from those who would inaccurately and misguidedly opine and define it as “non biblical” and/or “extreme”. However, a comprehensive examination of the theological background of Christian Zionism will reveal...
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...person, a significant practice and ethical teachings within the religious tradition of Christianity within the lives of adherents. Christianity is the worlds biggest religion with about 2.1 billion followers worldwide. It based on the teachings of Jesus Christ who lived in the Holy Land 2000 years ago. St Paul of Tarsus, Saturday/Sunday worship and environmental ethics are 3 of the greatest impacts of Christianity within the lives of adherents. There is no other person apart from Jesus who has had a more significant influence on Christianity within the lives of adherents than St Paul of Tarsus. His influences included his contribution to the establishment of many of the early Christian communities as well as his influence on Christian ethics, liturgy and worship, authority and governance. Saturday/Sunday worship is a significant practice within Christianity as it is the time where Christians gather to honour and celebrate the memorial do the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Christian ethical teachings on the environment are based on Christian sources of tradition and the bible with the principles of the intrinsic goodness of God, stewardship and sacramentality being applied to environmental issues. St Paul was a significant figure within the religious tradition of Christianity. St. Paul is known as 2 names generally, The Apostles to the Gentiles and The second founder of Christianity. Paul was first known when he took part in the martyrdom of Saint Stephen where he showed...
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...5 Influences of Christianity in America Christianity is the largest religion in the United States, with around 78% of those polled identifying themselves as Christian, as of 2009. This is down from 86% in 1990 and slightly lower than 78.6% in 2001. Christianity was introduced to the Americas as it was first colonized by Europeans beginning in the 16th and 17th centuries. Today most Christian churches are Mainline Protestant, Evangelical, or Roman Catholic. Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, claiming over a billion members. Its spiritual and administrative head is the Pope. The Church's leadership body in the United States is the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, made up of the hierarchy of bishops and archbishops of the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands, although each bishop is independent in his own diocese, answerable only to the Pope. Catholic beliefs and worship are detailed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (or CCC) is the official text of the teachings of the Catholic Church. A provisional, "reference text" was issued by Pope John Paul II on October 11, 1992 "the thirtieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council" with his apostolic constitution, Fidei depositum. The new Catechism was first published in 1994 in French and was then translated into many other languages. Catholic tradition and doctrine holds that...
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